Little League World Series Regionals 2016: Saturday Scores and Bracket Results
The road to the 2016 Little League World Series continued Saturday with regional tournaments in both the United States and Canada. By Aug. 13, all 16 berths in the annual showcase in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, will be claimed.
Seven of the eight international bids have already been locked up. It's a group that includes Chofu Little League from Tokyo. The Tokyo representative has won four of the past six LLWS titles, and it looks like a strong contender again after scoring 57 runs in a 4-0 qualifying run.
Let's check out a complete list of the games on tap for Saturday. The information will be updated through the conclusion of play. That's followed by a recap of the action.
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Saturday Schedule and Results
| U.S. Southeast | North Carolina vs. Alabama | 19-0 NC |
| U.S. Southeast | Virginia vs. South Carolina | 12-8 SC |
| Canada | Quebec vs. Atlantic | 9-0 QUE |
| U.S. Southeast | West Virginia vs. Florida | 7-3 WV |
| U.S. Southwest | Texas West vs. Arkansas | 14-0 TXW |
| Canada | Saskatchewan vs. Alberta | 12-2 ALB |
| U.S. Southeast | Georgia vs. Tennessee | 6-3 TENN |
| U.S. Southwest | New Mexico vs. Colorado | 6-5 NM |
| Canada | Host (Vancouver) vs. Ontario | 10-0 VAN |
Southeast Region
One day after nearly getting no hit in its opener, North Carolina (Bull City Little League) exploded for 18 hits and 19 runs in a four-inning rout of Alabama (Huntsville American Little League) to keep its LLWS hopes alive.
North Carolina opened the game with three straight singles en route to a three-run first inning and kept swinging hot lumber from there. It added four in the second, eight in the third and four more in the fourth to put the mercy rule into effect.
AJ Bass led the surge with a memorable day at the plate. The cleanup hitter, who also pitched two scoreless innings with three strikeouts, hit two home runs to go along with six RBI and four runs scored. In all, the top four hitters in the N.C. order went a combined 10-for-12.
Meanwhile, Alabama suffered a heartbreaking late loss to Florida on Friday and just didn't seem to have anything left in the tank for Saturday's contest. Jackson Moore and Logan Davis had the team's only two hits, as it gets eliminated from the tournament.
North Carolina lives to fight another day, but it remains on a tight rope in the double-elimination event. It must win four straight games in the next four days to win the Southeast Regional.
South Carolina (Irmo Little League) fought back from a 7-1 deficit to avoid elimination with a thrilling 12-8 victory over Virginia (Vienna American Little League).
The fifth inning was the difference. South Carolina sent 13 batters to the plate and scored seven runs to stun a Virginia squad that controlled a vast majority of the game. Four errors by the defense helped keep the extended rally alive on several occasions.
Zavier Short racked up three hits, including a homer, with three RBI and two runs in the win. But the unsung hero was on the mound as Paul Pridgen came on in relief to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings to keep S.C. in the game long enough to complete the comeback.
Tommy Fiocchi had a perfect day at the dish for Virginia with four knocks in four at-bats. He led a lineup that had eight of the team's nine starters tally at least one base hit. But the late struggles in the field brought an end to their Southeast championship hopes.
South Carolina will hope to ride that wave of momentum because it finds itself in the same situation as its neighbors from North Carolina. It can't afford another loss over the next four days. But the team's chances are still alive, at least for another day, thanks to a memorable rally.
West Virginia (Bridgeport Little League) scored in every inning to down Florida (North Palm Beach County Little League) 7-3 on Saturday.
A three-run fourth inning propelled West Virginia to victory. To that point, the two teams were tied 3-3, and then West Virginia broke the game open. JT Muller and Austin Mann came on in relief of starting pitcher Casey Tomasik and combined to go three scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing two hits.
Cam Cole, meanwhile, provided plenty of offense from the leadoff spot. He drove in four runs and went 3-for-4 at the plate. His solo home run in the bottom of the first halved the deficit, and his RBI single in the second cut the deficit to one run, 3-2, and West Virginia didn't look back from there.
Muller, Christopher Harbert and Brody Nolte each drive in a run as well.
A three-run fifth inning was the difference for Tennessee (Goodlettsville Baseball Little League) in a 6-3 win over Georgia (Peachtree City American Little League).
The teams were tied at 3-3 going into the bottom half of the fifth following a two-run homer by Javon Compton for Georgia. Tennessee responded in kind. Carson Rucker's double plated two runners, and an Ethan Jackson single provided a little insurance.
Michael Wright singled with one out in the top of the sixth, but Christopher Buchanan grounded into a game-ending double play.
Rucker and Tanner Jones each finished with two hits. Jones delivered a two-run home run in the second inning that gave Tennessee a 3-0 lead. The advantage wasn't safe for much longer, but Tennessee came out the victor all the same.
Southwest Region
Arkansas (Bryant Little League) was its own worst enemy against Texas West (McAllister Park American Little League) on Saturday. Despite registering just three hits, Texas West picked up a 14-0 victory.
The game was a case of Murphy's law in action for Arkansas. As a team, it committed four errors, while its pitchers combined to walk nine batters. Only five of Texas West's 14 runs were earned.
Britton Moore provided the bulk of Texas West's offense, going 2-for-2 and driving in two runs. Dominic Tellis was the star of the game. He went 1-for-3 with two RBI and one run scored while also pitching 2.2 hitless innings and striking out eight batters.
The eight strikeouts came in succession, which tied the Southwest Regional record, per the Little League's official Twitter account:
Orion Medina and Blake Compton pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed only one baserunner before sealing the win.
Five runs in the first two innings weren't enough for Colorado (North Boulder Little League), which fell 6-5 to New Mexico (Eastdale Little League).
AJ Armstrong singled to open the scoring for Colorado, and Alex Rucker doubled the lead. In the second inning, back-to-back hits by Eli Booth and Dillon Souvignier brought home three more runs.
Despite finding itself in an early hole, New Mexico didn't panic. Instead, it tied the game in the bottom of the third. Alex Gaeto's sacrificed fly scored the go-ahead run, with Sydney Ward touching home plate.
Credit Aidan Young for coming on in relief of starting pitcher Eric Santillanes and putting out a major fire. Santillanes was responsible for all five of Colorado's runs. Young then stepped on the mound and pitched four scoreless innings. He allowed one hit and struck out five batters. Ryan Pullen then shut the door after taking over for the final out.
Canada Region
The Quebec (Diamond Baseball Academy Little League) offense continues to roll right along as it posted nine runs in a shutout win over Atlantic (Sydney and District No. 1 Little League) on Saturday after a 14-run outburst in its opener Friday.
It was a complete team effort for Quebec. Eight different players registered a hit, seven scored a run and four tallied an RBI in the one-sided affair. On the mound, Jacob Blais and Alex Blais combined for six shutout innings while allowing just three hits and striking out eight.
Hayden MacLean, Cole Stevens and Bryson Bernard had the only hits for Atlantic, which got held without a run for the second time in three games. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the lineup get shaken up a bit for the rest of the tournament to seek a spark.
Although it's been a frustrating start for the Atlantic squad, the schedule should get a little easier moving forward. So there's still a chance to rally together and at least pick up a couple of victories. The team's next chance comes Sunday against Saskatchewan.
Quebec, meanwhile, is putting itself into championship contention. Its offense might be the most complete group in the entire tournament, so all it's going to take is some solid pitching performances in order to push the team into the LLWS next weekend.
Nathan Ritchie went the distance in a 12-2 win for Alberta (Southwest Little League) over Saskatchewan (Moose Jaw Little League).
Ritchie pitched six innings, allowing two runs despite giving up 12 hits. He had dominant stuff at times, as evidenced by his 11 strikeouts. Ritchie didn't throw a gem on the mound, but give him credit for getting out of dangers and consistently stranding Saskatchewan runners on base.
Riley Pearce set the tone at the top of the order, going 4-for-4 with one RBI and four runs scored. One of those four runs came on Teigen Parenteau's two-run homer in the third inning that gave Alberta a 2-0 lead—a lead the team didn't relinquish.
Host Vancouver (Hastings Community Little League) didn't disappoint in front of a home crowd. Vancouver shut out Ontario (Port Arthur National Little League) 10-0.
Much of the damage came during a six-run explosion in the second inning. Vancouver batted around, with 10 players coming to the plate. Sean Coventry led off with a solo home run. With the bases loaded, Loreto Siniscalchi walked and then Nicola Barba and Aaron Mak delivered back-to-back hits to score four more runs.
Vancouver tacked on four more insurance runs in the fifth inning. Lucas Sorace tripled-home Matteo Ripoli, Sorace came home on a Antonio Cusati single and Siniscalchi homered to round out Vancouver's offensive output.
All game statistics courtesy of the tournament's official site.
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